Microgeneration

Island-wide ballot being organised – every vote is vital

Mull and Iona Community Trust is planning the first community owned power generation project on the Isle of Mull. It is hoped that a 320KW ‘run of river‘ hydro electric power scheme will be located on the burn near to the Garmony settlement overlooking the Sound of Mull.

The scheme is intended to reduce the carbon footprint of the island by taking advantage of one of the most abundant resources available to us on Mull – rainfall! Once the scheme is operational we hope it will generate sufficient electricity to meet the needs of 230 homes on Mull.

The scheme would be on land owned by the Forestry Commission. The Comission has a scheme whereby community groups can lease land, but it requires a ballot of over half the island’s resident, with a majority of that group voting in favour. In February 2012 Mull and Iona Community Trust is organising an island-wide ballot to measure support for the project. The Trust is at pains to emphasise that every Mulleach’s vote is vital for the trust to be able to secure the use of the land from Forestry Commission Scotland.

As well as generating clean, renewable energy, the scheme will produce income which will benefit Mull and Iona for generations to come by providing:

seedcorn funding for other community renewable energy and energy conservation projects

funding for the support provided by the Community Trust to individuals and groups on the islands

direct funding for a whole range of island groups and events projects (e.g. Village shows, Mull Rally, Village Halls)

If you would like to find out more then why not go along to the Renewables Fair in Craignure Hall on February 4th. Doors open at 11.15am through to 4pm. As well as finding out mroe about the hydro project you can get advice from thte Energy Saving Trust, Community Energy Scotland and a number of suppliers of renewable energy systems.

LINKS

Business electricity users in Scotland ‘missing out on opportunities to benefit from renewable energy technologies’

A report by industry body Scottish Renewables has found that only 3.6% of applications for renewable energy schemes eligible for Feed In Tarrifs last year came from small enterprises, with 95% coming from private homeowners.

Scots ahead in installed microgeneration capacity

According to the latest AEA Microgeneration Index published this month, Scotland leads the UK in small-scale renewable energy installations, with more capacity installed than any other region. The Index shows that capacity has nearly doubled in the last twelve months and is the highest per head of population in the UK.

The AEA Scottish Microgeneration Index details progress made across the country, and in each local authority area, one year on from the launch of the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme, which was designed to encourage uptake of small scale renewable electricity generation.

The Index found Scotland to have a disproportionately high installed capacity (by population) with 20% of UK installed capacity. It also found that 75% of the UK’s hydro capacity is in Scotland, in addition to 63% of the total wind capacity.